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T1 North Shore and Western line
The North Shore, Northern and Western railway line is the new collective name for the , and the . It is also given the code on maps and stations. It is owned and operated by Sydney Trains. North Shore Line The North Shore Line is a part of the metropolitan rail network in Sydney, Australia, operated by Sydney Trains. The North Shore Line extends from Sydney Central station through the western limb of the City Circle, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and along the North Shore area to Hornsby where it joins the Northern Line. History The North Shore Line was opened on 1 January 1890 as a single track between Hornsby and St Leonards. The line was extended to the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Milsons Point on 1 May 1893. Transport between this original Milsons Point station and central Sydney was by ferry boat. Most of the North Shore line was duplicated between 1900 and 1909. In 1927 the line was converted to electric operation using a 1500 volt DC, overhead supply. The construction works for the Sydney Harbour Bridge necessitated truncation of the southern terminus from Milsons Point to Lavender Bay. When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 19 March 1932 a new Milsons Point station (on the bridge approach) came into operation and the North Shore Line was extended through it and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to link with the underground lines of central Sydney. The result is that the two ends of the North Shore Line link to the Sydney railway system at Central and Hornsby. After 1932 the original Lavender Bay station became a storage depot for electric trains, and the line connecting Lavender Bay to the North Shore line was reduced to single track. This line joins the current passenger-carrying North Shore line at Waverton station. The North Shore Line is now a major commuter artery between the North Shore and central Sydney. In early years, Old Milsons Point, Bay Road, St Leonards, Chatswood, Lindfield, Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra, Wahroonga and Hornsby stations had goods yards. All but St Leonards, Chatswood and Hornsby yards had disappeared by mid-twentieth century, and the latter three did not survive into the late twentieth century. The NSW Government Urban Transport Statement identifies capacity and service improvements for the North Shore Line with plans to add extra tracks between Gordon and Chatswood, and extra platforms at St Leonards by 2017. Northern Line The Northern Line is part of the metropolitan rail network in Sydney known as Sydney Trains. It serves the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Lower North Shore, along with parts of the Inner West and the Hills District. The line utilises the Epping to Chatswood Line and parts of the Main Northern Line, North Shore Line and Main Suburban Line. It is denoted as red on Sydney Trains network maps and other publicity. Sydney Trains initially promised the Northern Line would be fully air-conditioned in the October 2009 timetable changes because the older non-air-conditioned trains were too noisy to run on the Epping-Chatswood rail link. However, Railcorp took remedial soundproofing works on the underground rail link in 2010 and this has meant that L, R and S sets are now allowed on the line. Line Description The line begins at Hornsby - a junction station with the North Shore Line. The line heads south to Epping using the Main Northern Line. At Epping the line heads underground to the Macquarie employment centre and Chatswood via the Epping to Chatswood Line. The line surfaces at Chatswood and joins the North Shore Line for the run south towards the City. Trains pass through North Sydney station before heading across the Harbour Bridge and through the underground stations of Wynyard and Town Hall, and the surface stations of Central and Redfern. Services then run along the Main Suburban Railway, usually using the middle 'Suburban' pair of the six tracks between Redfern and Strathfield. Services generally do not stop at intermediate stations between Redfern and Burwood. At Strathfield, trains usually head onto a flyover over the 'Main lines', before heading north back on the Main Northern Line, crossing the Parramatta River between Rhodes and Meadowbank, and terminating at Epping's surface platforms. At Epping trains reverse and complete the route in the opposite direction. History The traditional Northern Line was the suburban portion of the Main Northern Line which opened in as a single track line 1886. In 1892, the line was duplicated to Hornsby, and electrified in 1926 as part of the Bradfield electrification scheme. In 1932 the line was connected to the City underground. In 2009 the line was replaced by its current route. In the years prior to the 2009 revamp, Tangaras (T/G sets), R/S sets (includes 6 cars only) operated on the Strathfield-Hornsby section of the Northern Line. Western Line The Western Line is part of the Sydney Trains metropolitan rail network in Sydney, and is the suburban section of the Main West line which connects Sydney with the west of New South Wales. It connects the Sydney CBD to the employment centre of Parramatta and the outer western suburbs, terminating at Emu Plains at the foot of the Blue Mountains. The line physically continues over the mountains but this is known as the Blue Mountains Line. Passengers are able to travel beyond this into western New South Wales via NSW TrainLink as well as interstate to Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western Australia with the Indian Pacific. A north-westerly branch also operates to Richmond. Western Line trains are usually fed by the North Shore Line. History The Western Line opened to Penrith in 1863 as a double track branch from the junction with the Main South line at Granville. Electrification reached Parramatta in 1928 and Penrith in 1955. In 1980, quadruplication of the track between Blacktown and St Marys was completed. The branch line from Blacktown to Windsor, Richmond and the Hawkesbury River opened in 1864 (known locally as the Richmond Line). In 1926, an extension was opened to Kurrajong, closing in 1952. The line was electrified to Riverstone in 1975. Electrifiction from Riverstone to Richmond commenced in 1987 but was suspended in 1988 due to lack of funds, restarting in 1990 and opening in August 1991. Initially electric trains operated as 2-car shuttles between Riverstone to Richmond until the electric power supply was upgraded to allow through running to and from Sydney in 1992. As part of the Clearways Project, there are currently plans to duplicate the track between Quakers Hill and Schofields to expand capacity. On 20 November 2006, Railcorp announced plans to extend duplication further along the line to Vineyard station. There are also long term plans to link the proposed North Western railway line to join the Richmond line at Vineyard. Proposed Fast Rail Link First introduced in 2004 by a consortium of Dutch bank ABN AMRO and developer Leighton Holdings, the project dubbed the Penrith High Speed Link, known officially as Western FastRail, was reproposed in December 2006 and received approving comments by the NSW State Government, and was offered funding by Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd should the Australian Labor Party win the 2007 Federal Election. The $2 billion Western FastRail project will involve a tunnel being built between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD. It will shrink times from Penrith to the city to 28 minutes (presently over 55 minutes), Parramatta to City to 11 minutes (presently over 30 minutes) and Blacktown to City to 17 minutes (presently over 40 minutes). The plan would assist the entire Western Suburbs of Sydney (40% of Sydney's population), which as an area, is accursed with longer commute times than any other part of Sydney. It would also reduce the car dependency that is characteristic of this regionneeded. The Western FastRail project was rejected twice after government advisers estimated the project would cost $4.5 billion: $2 billion more than the proponents claimed. It was not clear where $600 million worth of single-deck rolling stock would come from; Penrith commuters would have to pay an extra $40 a week, and those who could not afford such a steep tariff would have to travel 84 minutes to the city for work due to the services cut to free tracks for the fast trains. Central, Parramatta and Wynyard would all need multimillion-dollar upgrades. Commuter car parks and feeder services would be needed. And none of these central concerns had been modelled or costed; a senior member of the Government's appraisal team said: "The construction cost estimates were entirely fanciful at $2 billion to $2.5 billion. That is just bollocks". Michael Easson, a former NSW Union Leader who had since become a prominent developer was central to the project and its strongest promoter. Concerns were raised that Easson would use inside knowledge to buy up adjacement property in Parramatta and Penrith, realising considerable profits through his companies EG Property Group and EG Property Consulting. Easson has however consistently denied these allegations. Stations Please note - the stopping patters may b inaccurate at this point in time